Company-cause fit and celebrity endorsements affecting skepticism towards cause-related marketing campaigns supporting cancer research

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of company-cause fit and endorsement-cause fit on consumers’ attitudes towards cause-related marketing campaigns. In order to examine the role of company-cause fit in cause-related marketing, the study paired the cause of supporting cancer research with two hypothetical companies representing car manufacturing and organic food industry. The research was conducted through an online survey completed by 245 Finnish university students. In the survey, the participants were asked to rate likert-scale items based on their attitudes towards the cause, the company and its campaign and the perceived fit between the cause and the company. The survey involved six different manipulations concerning the company-cause fit and endorsement-cause fit of the campaign. The hypotheses of the study were tested using a two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Supporting the hypotheses of the study, the results show that company-cause fit has a significant impact on skepticism towards the campaign. Furthermore, consumers’ level of skepticism is lower when the fit between the cause and the company is high. In addition, the results of the study also suggest that a high company-cause fit improves the consumers’ perceptions of the company image. According to the findings, a high endorsement-cause fit results in lower levels of skepticism and a better company image when the company-cause fit is high. However, when the fit between the company and the cause is low, a low endorsement-cause fit performs better in terms of consumer attitudes and company image. Nevertheless, these differences between the manipulations of endorsement-cause fit were not significant which resulted in rejecting the hypotheses concerning celebrity endorsements. The findings of the study indicate that in order to improve consumers’ attitudes towards cause-related marketing and enhance the company image, managers need to choose a cause which aligns well with the company values. In addition, although the influence of celebrity endorsements and endorsement-cause fit was not found significant in this study, the trend suggests that the positive influence of a high company-cause fit can be optimized with a celebrity endorsement that has a genuine connection with the cause

Imōto-moe : seksualisoidut sisarussuhteet japanilaisessa animaatiossa

In this work I examine how imōto-moe, a recent trend in Japanese animation and manga in which incestual connotations and relationships between brothers and sisters is shown, contributes to the sexualization of girls in the Japanese society. This is done by analysing four different series from 2010s, in which incest is a major theme. The analysis is done using visual analysis.The study concludes that although the series can show sexualization of drawn underage girls, reading the works as if they would posit either real or fictional little sisters as sexual targets. Instead, the analysis suggests that following the narrative, the works should be read as fictional underage girls expressing a pure feelings and sexuality, unspoiled by adult corruption.To understand moe, it is necessary to understand the history of Japanese animation. Much of the genres, themes and styles in manga and anime are due to Tezuka Osamu, the “god of manga” and “god of animation”. From the 1950s, Tezuka was influenced by Disney and other western animators at the time. His stories and themes had intellectual and philosophical depth that the western counterparts did not have. The works also touched themes that the western animation steered away from, including sexuality, which was not compartmentalized in a similar fashion in Japan as it was in the Western world. His works not only created new genres by themselves, but the constant combination by future generations created thethematic complexity that can be seen in manga and anime today.Tezuka also had a role in underage girl sexualization: his girl characters were an inspiration for the sexuality of little girls, both real and fictional, in the 70s. The western works of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita and Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland drew attention to the cuteness of little girls. In combination, sexualized versions of Tezuka’s characters were drawn, at first as a parody. In the 80s there was a boom of drawn girls in sexually compromised situations, or loliconart. Duringthe 80s, the focus shifted away from connotations to real girl imagery and drawn rape imagery towards less violent forms.In 1989, a dubious connection was drawn between otaku, fans of popular culture, including loliconimagery, and a serial killer of small children. The moral panic that followed slowed the spread of loliconin the 90s.Meanwhilein the 90s, an idea of moebegan to form: if fictional little girls are not corrupted by adult sexuality, the girls cause feelings of affection in the viewer. The viewers are affected by moe via isolated, but recognizable tropes, such as cat ears and tail, a speech habit, or twin tails. A part of this research is to examine how well imōto-fits under the loliconcriteria, and undermoe: the characters are sexualized: they are showing having sexual thoughts and expressing sexual activity. After the examination, I conclude that, at least in the works examined, imōto-moe fits under the latter category: the male partners are passive and follow the girl’s lead, the ages are very close, and many of the series emphasize the virtual aspect: to enjoy little sisters, they have to be two-dimensional, outside the laws of reality

Simulating a Mobile Peer-to-Peer Network

Vertaisverkkosovellukset (P2P-sovellukset) ovat saapuneet kannettaviin laitteisiin, kun laitteiden prosessoriteho, tallennuskapasiteetti sekä matkapuhelinverkkojen kaistanleveys on kasvanut. Perinteiset P2P-sovellukset ovat liian raskaita mobiilikäyttöön. Uusia, kevyempiä vertaisverkkoprotokollia tarvitaan mahdollistamaan P2P-sovellusten toiminta mobiiliympäristössä. P2P Session Initiation Protocol (P2PSIP) on kehitteillä oleva protokolla, jonka avulla SIP protokollan yhteydenmuodostus toteutetaan ilman palvelimia. Tämän työn tavoitteena oli simuloinnin avulla tutkia Resource Location and Delivery (RELOAD) vertaisprotokollaa käyttävää P2PSIP päällysverkkoa. Tarkastelun kohteena olivat erityisesti kaistanleveyden tarve, hakujen kustannukset sekä hakujen onnistuminen. Myös solmujen päällysverkkoon liittymisestä ja päällysverkosta poistumisesta aiheutuvat vaikutukset tuloksiin olivat mielenkiinnon kohteina. Tämä työ vertailee kahden hajautetun tiivistetaulualgoritmin, Chordin ja Kademlian, suorituskykyä. Simulaatiot on suoritettu C++ ohjelmointikielellä toteutetulla OverSimpäällysverkkosimulaattorilla. Tämä työ osoittaa, että 2G-matkapuhelinverkon kaistanleveys on riittävä P2PSIPpäällysverkon tarpeisiin. Kademliaa käytettäessä kaistanleveys on suurempi, mutta hakujen viive pienempi ja onnistumisprosentti suurempi kuin Chordia käytettäessä. Tulokset osoittavat, että tässä työssä käytetyillä parametreilla hakujen onnistumisprosentti on monille sovelluksille liian alhainen eikä mahdollista niille tyydyttävää palvelun laatua.Peer-to-peer (P2P) applications have become available for portable devices as the processing power and the storage capacity of the devices as well as the network bandwidth have increased. The traditional P2P applications have been considered too heavy for mobile usage. New, lightweight P2P protocols are needed for mobile P2P applications. P2P Session Initiation Protocol (P2PSIP) is a protocol under development that provides the session establishment functions of SIP in a serverless fashion. The main objective of this thesis was to simulate a P2PSIP overlay network operating with Resource Location And Delivery (RELOAD) peer protocol and study its bandwidth consumption, lookup overhead and lookup success rate. The effect of churn, the process of nodes arriving to the overlay and leaving it, on these results was also one of our concerns. We study if this kind of network is applicable to be implemented on top of current mobile telephone networks. This study compares the performance of two distributed hash table (DHT) algorithms, Chord and Kademlia. The simulations were carried out with OverSim overlay network simulator implemented in the C++ programming language. This study shows that P2PSIP network's bandwidth usage is low enough to operate on top of the 2G mobile telephone networks. Kademlia uses more bandwidth than Chord but it has a shorter lookup delay and a higher lookup success rate than Chord. The results show that with the parameter settings used in our study the lookup success rates are in general too low for many applications to give them a satisfying quality of service

Randomised Controlled Trial: Partial Hydrolysation of Casein Protein in Milk Decreases Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Subjects with Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders

Unspecific gastrointestinal symptoms associated with milk consumption are common. In addition to lactose, also other components of milk may be involved. We studied whether the partial hydrolysation of milk proteins would affect gastrointestinal symptoms in subjects with functional gastrointestinal disorders. In a randomised, placebo-controlled crossover intervention, subjects (n = 41) were given ordinary or hydrolysed high-protein, lactose-free milkshakes (500 mL, 50 g protein) to be consumed daily for ten days. After a washout period of ten days, the other product was consumed for another ten days. Gastrointestinal symptoms were recorded daily during the study periods, and a validated irritable bowel syndrome-symptom severity scale (IBS-SSS) questionnaire was completed at the beginning of the study and at the end of both study periods. Blood and urine samples were analysed for markers of inflammation, intestinal permeability and immune activation. Both the IBS-SSS score (p = 0.001) and total symptom score reported daily (p = 0.002) were significantly reduced when participants consumed the hydrolysed product. Less bloating was reported during both study periods when compared with the baseline (p < 0.01 for both groups). Flatulence (p = 0.01) and heartburn (p = 0.03) decreased when consuming the hydrolysed product but not when drinking the control product. No significant differences in the levels of inflammatory markers (tumor necrosis factor alpha, TNF-α and interleukin 6, IL-6), intestinal permeability (fatty acid binding protein 2, FABP2) or immune activation (1-methylhistamine) were detected between the treatment periods. The results suggest that the partial hydrolysation of milk proteins (mainly casein) reduces subjective symptoms to some extent in subjects with functional gastrointestinal disorders. The mechanism remains to be resolved

Texturization of a Blend of Pea and Destarched Oat Protein Using High-Moisture Extrusion

Grain protein fractions have great potential as ingredients that contain high amounts of valuable nutritional components. The aim of this study was to study the rheological behavior of destarched oat and pea proteins and their blends in extrusion-like conditions with a closed cavity rheometer. Additionally, the possibility of producing fibrous structures with high-moisture extrusion from a blend of destarched oat and pea protein was investigated. In the temperature sweep measurement (60-160 degrees C) of the destarched oat protein concentrate and pea protein isolate blend, three denaturation and polymerization sections were observed. In addition, polymerization as a function of time was recorded in the time sweep measurements. The melting temperature of grain proteins was an important factor when producing texturized structures with a high-moisture extrusion. The formation of fibrillar structures was investigated with high-moisture extrusion from the destarched oat and pea protein blend at temperatures ranging from 140 to 170 degrees C. The protein-protein interactions were significantly influenced in the extruded samples. This was due to a decrease in the amount of extractable protein in selective buffers. In particular, there was a decrease in non-covalent and covalent bonds due to the formation of insoluble protein complexes.Peer reviewe

Influence of oat flour characteristics on the physicochemical properties of oat-based milk substitutes

This study aimed at investigating the effect of oat composition on the quality characteristics of oat-based milk substitute (OBMS). Raw materials for OBMS consisted of thirty pure cultivar oat flours produced by industrial milling process. The main steps in OBMS preparation included mixing of 10% oat flour with water, starch hydrolysis, solid-liquid separation and formulation of the final product. OBMS was characterised in terms of mass and protein yields, protein content, reducing sugars, particle size, viscosity, dispersion stability and colour. The different composition of oat flours affected the characteristics of the OBMS in terms of mass yield (81.3–88.1%), dry matter yield (56.7–73.8%), protein content (0.63–1.10%), protein yield (31.4–61.6%), content of free reducing sugars (13.1–19.1%), and physical properties including particle size, dispersion stability and viscosity. OBMS mass and dry matter yields correlated positively with both total and damaged starch contents of the oat flour as well as the share of damaged starch of the total starch of the sample, while flour starch content correlated negatively with protein content of OBMS. Protein content of the flour correlated negatively with the mass, dry matter and protein yields and positively with protein content of OBMS. All colour values (L*, a*, b*) of the flour correlated with colour value b* of the OBMS. Protein content and viscosity of OBMS correlated positively with dispersion stability of OBSM. In conclusion, the clear relation between oat composition and the final properties of OBMS suggest relevance of selecting specific oat raw materials to produce good quality OBMS

Influence of oat flour characteristics on the physicochemical properties of oat-based milk substitutes

This study aimed at investigating the effect of oat composition on the quality characteristics of oat-based milk substitute (OBMS). Raw materials for OBMS consisted of thirty pure cultivar oat flours produced by industrial milling process. The main steps in OBMS preparation included mixing of 10% oat flour with water, starch hydrolysis, solid-liquid separation and formulation of the final product. OBMS was characterised in terms of mass and protein yields, protein content, reducing sugars, particle size, viscosity, dispersion stability and colour. The different composition of oat flours affected the characteristics of the OBMS in terms of mass yield (81.3–88.1%), dry matter yield (56.7–73.8%), protein content (0.63–1.10%), protein yield (31.4–61.6%), content of free reducing sugars (13.1–19.1%), and physical properties including particle size, dispersion stability and viscosity. OBMS mass and dry matter yields correlated positively with both total and damaged starch contents of the oat flour as well as the share of damaged starch of the total starch of the sample, while flour starch content correlated negatively with protein content of OBMS. Protein content of the flour correlated negatively with the mass, dry matter and protein yields and positively with protein content of OBMS. All colour values (L*, a*, b*) of the flour correlated with colour value b* of the OBMS. Protein content and viscosity of OBMS correlated positively with dispersion stability of OBSM. In conclusion, the clear relation between oat composition and the final properties of OBMS suggest relevance of selecting specific oat raw materials to produce good quality OBMS

Impact of Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Microfluidization on the Techno-Functionality of Oat Bran in Suspension and Acid Milk Gel Models

Oat bran is a nutritionally rich ingredient, but it is underutilized in semi-moist and liquid foods due to technological issues such as high viscosity and sliminess. The aim of this work was to improve the technological properties of oat bran concentrate (OBC) in high-moisture food applications by enzymatic and mechanical treatments. OBC was hydrolyzed with β-glucanase (OBC-Hyd) and the water-soluble fraction (OBC-Sol) was separated. OBC, OBC-Hyd and OBC-Sol were further microfluidized at 5% dry matter content. Enzymatic treatment and microfluidization of OBC reduced the molecular weight (Mw) of β-glucan from 2748 kDa to 893 and 350 kDa, respectively, as well as the average particle size of OBC (3.4 and 35 times, respectively). Both treatments increased the extractability of the soluble compounds from the OBC samples (up to 80%) and affected their water retention capacity. OBC in suspension had very high viscosity (969 mPa·s) when heated, which decreased after both enzyme and microfluidization treatments. The colloidal stability of the OBC in suspension was improved, especially after microfluidization. The addition of OBC samples to acid milk gels decreased syneresis, improved the water holding capacity and softened the texture. The changes in the suspension and gel characteristics were linked with reduced β-glucan Mw and OBC particle size

Functionality and economic feasibility of enzymatically hydrolyzed waste bread as a sugar replacer in wheat bread making

Food-grade enzymes (alpha-amylase, amyloglucosidase, maltogenic amylase, and protease) were investigated for recycling waste bread back to wheat bread-making process. Waste bread was efficiently hydrolyzed into sugars (up to 93% glucose yield) and the best combination of enzymes was alpha-amylase (0.05 g/kg bread) and amyloglucosidase (2.5 g/kg bread). Selected enzyme hydrolysis processes were tested in wheat bread making as a (a) hydrolyzed slurry, that is hydrolyzed waste bread without solid/liquid separation and (b) syrup, that is liquid supernatant after centrifugation of the hydrolyzed waste bread. Both hydrolyzed bread slurry and syrup were successfully utilized to replace sucrose (2 and 4%) in bread making without affecting the bread quality when compared to the control bread. Techno-economic assessment revealed that this approach is 12% more economical than the current mean to dispose the bakery waste. This recycling concept showed both technical and economic potential for bakery industries to overcome their excess bread production. Novelty impact statement A new recycling process was developed by using enzymes to efficiently hydrolyze surplus bread into sugars. The use of those sugar-rich slurries and syrups in bread rework did not affect the bread quality when compared to the control bread. The recycling concept was more economical than current means to dispose waste bread, revealing the technical and economic potential for bakery industries to overcome their excess bread production.Peer reviewe